Music of the Heart
by XoXKeii-chanXoX
Summary: Secrets can really change one's opinion about someone in the blink of an eye. But for a certain girl, keeping secrets may have just costed her entire way of life and a certain someone's heart. But, how can she tell them her big secret. Still... In her case, keeping the secret was only half of the battle... Rated T for suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

_**So, this was originally going to be a Christmas fic, but I got lazy and slacked off all of December. So, it will just be during the set of Winter. It should still be fairly well-done.**_

_**Author's Note: If you have read my other Ouran FanFic, you will notice that I use the same main character as I did in that one (however, that is not finished, as I got lazy again and had no motivation to continue it…SHOCKER.). However, this is a slightly different setting than that. Hope you enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I shouldn't have to say anymore since the 'disclaimer' should be indication enough of what I'm about to say, but unfortunately I have to; I do NOT own OHSHC. There I said it…**_

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"Brr…It's freezing…" I mumbled quietly as I wandered down the streets. I pulled the collar up on my jacket closer around my neck and trudged on. I had plenty of time before I needed to be at the academy, but seeing as it was below freezing, I didn't want to waste any more time than I had to. I quickened my pace as I rounded the corner and the building came into sight. As I was walking, my eyes rested on one particular friend of mine and I smiled happily.

"Hey! Haruhi!" I called. My said friend had turned and smiled at me.

"Hey, Casey!" When I had first moved to Japan from America, I didn't have many friends because of my strange appearance as a tomboy. I was even mistaken for a male and given a male uniform. However, I didn't object to it, seeing as I was just grateful to get into Ouran Academy. When I met Haruhi, however, I was surprised to hear a similar story come from her. Since then, we have remained close friends.

That was at the beginning of the semester. Now, I'm friends with a few more people, keeping my boyish appearance, of course, and my true gender a secret from most, known solely as the boy named Casey Klinger.

I ran up to Haruhi and walked along side her the rest of the way to the academy.

"So, how's that music report coming?" Haruhi asked. I just dropped my head in defeat.

"Exhausting…I was up all night last night trying to get it done. I finally had it finished by…Oh…I don't know…2 in the morning!" I complained. I hated complaining so much, but I truly was exhausted from it.

"Well, at least you got it done, right?" Haruhi added. I looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Besides, now you have time to practice for that concert that's coming up. When was it again?" Haruhi asked.

"Christmas Eve. Doesn't give me much time to practice, I guess." I said with a sad smile.

"You'll be fine." Haruhi reassured. "Besides, you have an amazing talent for picking up songs quickly. You'll learn it in no time, I'm sure of it." Haruhi smiled happily at me. I grinned at her.

"Thanks, Haruhi. I guess you're right. Hey, is it alright if I come by today? You know…to the club?" I asked. Haruhi grinned.

"Definitely! The guys will be happy to see you again, and will be happy to have the extra help." Haruhi explained. I nodded.

"Great! I'll walk with you there then after class, then!" I exclaimed. We chatted a while more as we entered the building, took our things to our respective lockers, and walked to class together. Thankfully, I have most my classes with Haruhi, so it's a big advantage when we don't know something, we can just turn to one another for help.

As we entered our first class, we took our seats.

"Hey, Haruhi. Casey," we heard. We both turned to see Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin walking to their seats. We both smiled happily. Hikaru and Kaoru always chatted every morning with us, and were really good friends.

"Hi, Hikaru. Hi, Kaoru," I said. They took their seats behind us and proceeded with our normal chit-chat.

As the day progressed, I suddenly found myself feeling extremely tired. Looks like the previous nights of staying up past midnight had finally caught up to me. Sitting in the middle of my introductory psychology class, the one class I didn't have with Haruhi, I felt myself nodding off. The sound of the teacher's lectures slowly fading away to muffled sounds of nothing. Just as I was almost completely asleep, a large force was dropped upon my head, snapping me awake.

"Perhaps you'd like some _extra_ time to sleep, Mr. Klinger," I heard my teacher scold. "Or would it be too troubling for you to stay awake in my class?" I snapped up in my seat and nodded apologetically.

"My apologies, sir…" I mumbled. "It won't happen again…" I promised.

"It had better not," he said. He then went back to his lecture as if nothing happened. I sat up in my chair, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and ignored the stares and inaudible taunting from the rest of the class.

By the end of the class, my eyes felt like sandpaper, but I managed to stay awake the rest of the class. I walked slowly out of the room, apologizing once again to the teacher, and walking down the hallway to my last class of the day. I knew Haruhi would get a kick out of this one…

When the end of the day came, I was happy to be able to spend time with the guys. It had been a little while since I had gone to the host club to help out with things, and I knew the ladies would be happy. I smirked at the thought as I put my stuff in my messenger bag, found Haruhi, and made our way to the club room. On the way there, I proceeded in telling her about my situation in my Psychology class today.

"He dropped a book on your head?" Haruhi asked through her laughter. I lightly smacked her arm to make her stop.

"It's not funny! I think he left a lump…" I said, feeling around on my head as if I was going to find some sort of bruise. But, even I couldn't keep a straight face at the memory, and soon found myself laughing along with her. "Okay, maybe it is a little funny…" I said with a smirk.

When we finally reached the club doors, I took a deep breath before reaching for the handle. When I opened the door, I expected the elusive group of men to be sitting in the room right in front of us, but nothing but an empty room sat in front of us. I walked in, looking around for the club, but no one was there.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"I'm not sure…maybe they all had tests to work on. Some classes have finals to work on before the holiday break," Haruhi explained. I nodded at her as I wandered about the room.

Suddenly, my eyes fell upon the grand piano in the room. My eyes beamed as I wandered closer to it, but I stopped.

_"Maybe…I shouldn't…"_ I thought to myself. I heard a chuckle come from behind me. I turned around to find someone I hadn't expected.

"If you wish to play it, you may," he said.

"Kyoya-sempai," I managed to say. I smiled happily as I ran over and sat down at the piano.

As I sat down, I placed my hands softly on the keys. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and began playing.

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. My fingers glided effortlessly over the keys as the beautiful music ran from the confines of the magnificent instrument and filled the room. All stresses were released from my body, as I felt my body grow lighter and lighter until I felt like I was floating in mid-air. Music was my escape, and you could definitely see it. I felt myself getting lost in the beautiful music.

Note by note, I felt my stresses release themselves, and found myself in a peaceful state where only I belonged and nothing else. As I neared the end of the song, I finally allowed myself to venture back to reality. I completed the song and allowed my hands to rest on the keys for a moment longer before opening my eyes and turning myself around on the bench so that I was facing Haruhi and Kyoya. I hadn't really even realized that my eyes had been closed. I smiled sheepishly at Haruhi's astonished expression.

"Wow, Casey…" she said. "It's been so long since I've heard you play, I forgot how beautiful your playing sounded." I looked at Kyoya who had his signature straight smile, although there was a look to his eyes that said more. I knew he was impressed. I smirked on the inside.

"Very lovely," he said. "You play beautifully, Casey."

"Thank you very much, Kyoya-sempai," I said. Just then, the doors burst open and the room was filled with disoriented chatter from the missing hosts.

"Kei-chan!" I heard._** (Kei-chan - In Japanese, Casey would be pronounced as "Keiishi", therefore, "Kei-chan" would be the shortened version.)**_ Suddenly, a strong force was launched at my side as I felt the strong arms of Hani-sempai closing around me tightly.

"Hani-sempai!" I exclaimed, hugging him back.

"It's great to see you again, Kei-chan!"

"You as well," I said with a grin.

"Well, hello there, Casey," I heard Tamaki say. I turned and smiled at him.

"Hello, Tamaki," I said.

"So you came, then!" I heard the twins say. I turned to them and nodded with a grin.

Soon after greetings, guests started filing in. One-by-one the girls took their seats at their respective tables, and each host was preoccupied with their regular customers. I proceeded in doing odd jobs around the club, like getting more tea for the hosts, taking orders for special guests, and visiting various tables that some of the girls that have known me from past visits were currently occupying. I managed to woo each and every one of them, grinning each time one of them almost fainted. I still got it!

Time went on, and for a while, I thought that the activities were going to last forever. I didn't mind being a host, but I didn't see how these guys did this every day. It's exhausting! I was sitting on the window seat with my knees pulled to my chest while looking out the window, when I felt someone come up to me. I looked up to see Kyoya staring down at me with a small smirk on his face.

"Rather exhausting, isn't it?" he mused. I moved my legs so he could sit next to me, as he did. I chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, it kind of is. I don't know how you lot do it every day," I said while shaking my head. I received a small chuckle from Kyoya at that which, I wasn't sure, but I felt my heart beat speed up for a split second. I managed to keep my cool as I continued conversing.

"I wanted to come back a few times, but haven't really had the time to," I said. "With that dumb music project I've been working on, I haven't really had time to spend with anybody."

"Ah, yes," he said. "But, you do enjoy it, do you not?" he asked. I smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes, I do. But it can be tiring at times."

"I would think so," he said with a nod. "Well, our guests are waiting. Shall we?" he gestured towards the guests and I sighed inwardly.

"Alright," I said. I stood up and joined the rest of the hosts in their usual chit chat with the guests, throwing in a few romantic gestures towards the ladies. I have to admit, it was kind of fun seeing their reactions. I hadn't realized how much I missed doing this.

The rest of the afternoon went by pretty quickly, and soon, everyone was begging me to come back again tomorrow. I didn't make any promises, but I said I would try to come back. That made the ladies happy, and they all filed out quickly, leaving the room almost completely silent again.

"Well, Casey? Do you miss this?" I heard Haruhi say. I looked at her and smiled.

"I hadn't realized how much I truly missed coming here. Thank you guys for letting me attend," I said.

"It was our pleasure, Casey," Tamaki said. "We like having the extra help." he said with a smile. I thought for a moment. I felt slightly guilty in a way. The only one who knew of my true situation was Haruhi. The hosts believed I was truly a boy. I guess it made sense since I opted to living as one, but I still felt somewhat guilty. Pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I decided it was time for me to leave as well. I didn't want to have to walk home in the dark…especially in the winter where it's almost 10 degrees at night.

"Well, I'm afraid it's time for me to take my leave. I thank you all once again," I said. I bowed politely and walked toward the door.

"Oh, Casey. Hold up," I heard Haruhi say. I turned around.

"Yes?"

"I'll walk with you. I need to speak to you about something anyway. I'll see you guys later," Haruhi said as she waved to the other hosts and we let ourselves out.

Once we were out of the school and walking down the sidewalk, Haruhi spoke up.

"So, are you ever planning on telling the guys?" she asked. I knew exactly what she was talking about, and it made me think a while before answering.

"I don't know, exactly. I want to, but what if they react badly?" I asked. Haruhi looked at me.

"There's really only one way to find out, Casey. Think about it, though. They don't react badly about things like that if you own up to it and tell them yourself."

"I know…I really want to. I guess I will," I said. "Tomorrow."

"Alright," Haruhi said. She smiled at me. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll take it fine." I smiled back at her and nodded in agreement.

Soon, we reached my block. Seeing as Haruhi lived the opposite direction, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. When I got home, I went inside quietly and looked around for my mother.

"She must be out again…" I thought out loud. No later than when I said that, I saw a note on the refrigerator. "Bingo." I read the note out loud.

"Casey, I went out with a few friends tonight. There are leftovers in the fridge to eat. I will be home tomorrow sometime. Love you!"

I sighed. This wasn't anything new. She went out all the time with her friends at all hours of the night, so I didn't think much of it. I went in the fridge and grabbed a couple things for a quick supper and went straight upstairs to my bedroom. I looked at myself in my mirror and smirked.

"Not bad, Casey. No wonder those girls couldn't keep your eyes off of you," I said to my reflection in the mirror. I shook my head as I laughed. I began changing out of my uniform and in to some more comfortable clothes. My first priority was taking off my uniform so I can remove the sports wrap that I had tightly bound around my chest, suppressing the one thing that would give me away as a female immediately. I changed into some loose jeans and threw on a simple t-shirt with a form-fitting sweatshirt over top. Even though this still looked like something a male would wear, I looked like myself again.

I opted settling for sitting in my room the rest of the night listening to my favorite classical music and reading. True, it didn't go with my appearance at all, but I enjoyed every minute of it so I wasn't complaining. I sat in bed reading for almost an hour before my eyes started getting tired. So, I marked my page in my book, set it on my bedside table, turned my music on low so that it was only background noise, and crawled underneath my covers. I hadn't even changed out of my clothes, but I was tired. Before I went to sleep, I thought back to my previous conversation with Haruhi.

"I hope you're right, Haruhi…" I mused out loud. I then allowed myself drift off to a peaceful, yet dreamless sleep.

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_**Yay! I'm pretty satisfied with where this is going! But, only you people can determine that. So, please Read, Review, Comment, Criticize, all that jazz! Hope you liked the first chapter, and I hope to see you all reading it!**_

_**See you next chapter!**_

_**Ciao!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Sorry for not updating as I had planned…Things have been happening really fast, and I haven't been able to keep up with things…But, be that as it may, I will try to update as much as possible._**

**_Disclaimer: Really…? Do I have to say it again…? I. Do. Not. Own. OHSHC. If I did, there would be more romance between Tamaki and Haruhi, and I would have placed myself in the show just to be able to say, "I was in an anime, once."_**

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I snapped awake as my alarm clock shrieked loudly, signaling the end of my peaceful sleep, and bringing the beginning of another long day. As soon as I shut off my alarm and lay there for a moment before getting up, my mind immediately went back to my conversation with Haruhi yesterday. Was it really a good idea to tell them now; after all this time? How would I go about doing it? And, more importantly, how would they react?

Pushing the assumptions to the back of my mind, I reluctantly sat up in my bed and began getting ready for the day. I began by changing directly into my uniform, making sure the wrap around my chest was tightly bound. I truly hated doing this every day, seeing as it took up a lot of my time. But, I couldn't afford to let the school in on my little secret. It could potentially jeopardize my entire enrollment at that facility, and I worked too hard to let that happen.

I finished getting dressed and walked out into the hallway. Before I headed downstairs, I heard the faint sound of shifting bedsprings in the room at the end of the hall. Sounds like my mom got home last night okay. I quietly walked down the hall and down the staircase as to not wake her.

When I got downstairs, I noticed I only had a few minutes before I had to start my long trek to the school. Seeing as the temperature was steadily dropping at a rather quick pace, I would want to get to the school without having to deal with any snow this early in the morning. With that, I quickly grabbed my small messenger bag, grabbed a muffin off the counter, and made my way out into the cold.

Man, was it cold out! I could see my breath forming in the air as soon as I stepped outside. I was even more eager to get to the school. Although, I always made it a point to meet Haruhi every morning. So, I opted for standing on the corner to wait for her, since the school was just up ahead.

After a good while of waiting, I was getting impatient. Glancing down at my watch, I noticed that it was almost time for class to begin. Forgetting all about meeting with Haruhi, I made a mad dash for the school.

_"Guess she's not coming today,"_ I thought to myself. _"I can't believe I stood for that long in the freezing cold!"_ I ran straight into the school and to my classroom. I had a few minutes left before class actually began. So, I slowed down before I got there, as to not draw anymore attention than I needed to. I rounded the corner in the hallway, keeping to myself as usual, before I accidentally bumped into someone, making my books fly from my hands and scatter across the floor. I bowed a number of times politely before gathering my books frantically.

"I'm so sorry!" I said quietly. "I wasn't watching where I was going…" I trailed off as I quickly organized my things and walked towards my classroom, ignoring to stifled laughter and discrete pointing of fingers from the other people in the hall. I didn't even look up to see who I had run into. I did not want to see the look of disgust he had most likely been giving me. I walked quickly to my classroom, keeping my head down the entire way.

Upon entering, I saw the twins wave at me to invite me into their current conversation. But, at this point, I didn't want to talk to anyone. I turned my gaze from them and quietly took my seat, only glancing at them once to see their confused faces. I didn't want to talk. I was too embarrassed from what had just happened, and I didn't want to have to explain it. I opened a book to make myself busy. However, it didn't seem to phase the twins, because…

"Casey~!" They both chimed. I sighed inwardly before placing my book upside down on the desk. I looked up at them.

"Yes?" I said with an innocent tone.

"Is everything okay?" Kaoru asked.

"You seem a bit irritated," Hikaru added.

"I'm fine," I replied flatly. "Just a little tired. I didn't sleep well last night." I hated lying, but I didn't have a choice.

"Oh…Okay…" they said. They seemed a bit less than convinced, but I didn't care. I turned back to my book and dropped the conversation at that.

All throughout the class, however, the feeling of guilt just kept rising inside of me. I hated lying to anyone. How I had managed to keep my gender a secret for this long, I will never know. But, I knew I had to last just until the end of the day…

Easier said than done. Every period that went by, I felt more and more anxious to get this over with. Soon, anxiety turned to nerves, and unfortunately, I was having second thoughts about doing this. But, I had made a promise to myself that I would tell them, and that's what I had planned to do.

By the time lunch rolled around, I was pleased to see Haruhi had come in a bit late today. As it would seem, she had an appointment today with her family doctor for just your usual checkup.

"You have me quite a scare this morning, Haruhi," I said to her as we took our seats at an empty table.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she said with a shy smile. "I guess I should have told you."

"Oh, no it's fine," I said waving a hand dismissively. "I was just thinking how I was going to approach the guys and explain to them why you weren't here. I could have come up with some elaborate story about how you were kidnapped by bandits and held for ransom, but I thought that a bit impractical," I explained flatly, gaining a good laugh out of Haruhi.

"If you had done that, Tamaki would have surely lost it and would have caused problems for all of us," she said between laughter. I started laughing eventually, as well.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," I said, taking a bite of my food. Just like Haruhi, I had always packed a bento lunch. I felt no need to spend money on the expensive food here at this school. Besides, I like my mother's cooking, and my money was needed elsewhere for more important priorities.

"So, have you decided?" Haruhi asked suddenly. I looked at her and blinked a few times before realizing what she had meant.

_"Great…Thanks for ruining the mood, Haruhi…"_ I thought. "At this point…I don't really know. I want to tell them, but for the longest time, I've felt comfortable just having them know I was a male and having an extra set of hands to have around the Host Club. I don't want to cause any tensions between us. Nor them and you for that matter, for knowing my true gender…" I explained. Haruhi looked at me for a while before nodding.

"Well, in the end, it really is your choice. You do whatever you think is right," she said. I nodded before taking a few more bites of my food as we sat in a comfortable silence the rest of lunch.

After lunch ended, the rest of the day went by rather quickly. All of the classes were really quite a blur as Haruhi and I made our way to the club room. I smiled all the way, perfectly content with leaving things the way they are.

"You're feeling awfully cheerful this afternoon," Haruhi mused next to me. I smiled at her.

"I just have a good feeling that this is the right choice," I replied. "I mean, I don't see anything really wrong with leaving things this way, because I like helping out. If my true gender were recognized, I wouldn't be able to."

"Maybe…But, honestly, I still think you should at least tell _somebody_ other than myself," Haruhi said. I shook my head at her.

"No. Nobody else would understand. They would all ridicule me and turn away from me. And, eventually, word would get back to the head-master, and I would either be kicked out, or forced to dress accordingly. So, I would just rather keep things to myself." I explained. Haruhi looked at me worriedly.

"You don't like sharing things with really anybody but myself, do you?" Haruhi mused. I shook my head at her.

"Not really. I don't feel the need to share my personal life with just anyone. Besides, I know I can trust you." I smiled at her.

"Yes, you can. But, that being said, what if the guys miraculously somehow find out you're a female?" Haruhi asked as we finally reached Music Room #3.

"I've been hiding my gender for this long," I started, reaching for the door handle. "What could possibly give it away?" I turned the door-knob and was greeted by a rush of flower petals against my face. As the flowers dispersed, as well as the bright light from the room, I was shocked at what I saw.

"Welcome!"

"Ah, Casey! You've returned!" I heard Tamaki say. I stared hard at the group in front of me.

I couldn't tell if I had arrived at the Host Club or a circus tent! The room was dimly lit with torches and somehow, miraculously, the place looked like a real circus ring. That's not all, however. The guys even looked like circus performers. Tamaki, dressed in what looked like a Ringleader's outfit, came running up to us.

"What do you think?" he asked happily. "I thought we would do something different from the usual cosplay and think a little outside of the box!"

"A circus group?" I heard Haruhi say incredulously. "_That's_ what you came up with?"

"Of course! We even have an outfit for you!" Tamaki said holding up what looked like a pirate's costume. It was to my understanding that pirates weren't often affiliated with circuses…but the rest of the group pretty much had everything else covered.

"There's _no way_ you're putting me in _that_, Sempai!" Haruhi protested. While Tamaki pushed for Haruhi's cooperation on this idea of his, I took another look at the rest of the group. Hani-sempai, and Mori-sempai were dressed as what looked like big muscle men. Even though Hani-sempai had little muscle to show, he made an excellent dumb-bell for a less-than-muscle-less Mori. I glanced over at the Twins who seemed to be sporting an outfit that made them look conjoined together at the side. It was a little odd to look at, but it fit them quite well. And then, there was Kyoya-sempai. He was dressed in a simple, yet elegant black suit with a top hat. At first glance, you wouldn't think he belonged in this strange group. But, at a closer glance, you would notice his top hat had puzzle pieces on it, and his face had been slightly altered; Black lipstick, a little bit of leopard print on his ear, a splash of yellow over his eye, and a portion of a fading checkerboard on his lower cheek. It was odd, yet strangely enchanting.

"_Please~_ Haruhi!" I was snapped out of my thoughts by the continuous bickering between Tamaki and Haruhi.

"No, Sempai! Get off!" Haruhi protested as Tamaki continued trying to push the costume onto Haruhi. I smirked a bit at him, before I felt two hands on my shoulders. I jumped a bit before turning around to find the twins grinning down at me.

"So, Casey," Hikaru started.

"Since you're here," Kaoru continued. They spun me around to reveal one more costume.

"How about joining us~!" they chimed together. I stared at the outfit. It was a multi-colored gypsy costume.

_"What should I do? I don't exactly have any valid excuses for not putting it on…But, all the same, if I did, this would blow my cover for sure."_ I thought to myself.

"Don't you have any more _male_ costumes for me to try?" I asked hopefully. They just shook their heads.

"Nope. This is the only other one we ordered," Hikaru stated.

"Oddly enough, we _did_ ask for a male costume," Kaoru said.

"But, this will have to do~!" They both finished in unison before pushing me towards the costume.

My heart was pounding. What should I do? If I put this on, I was sure to be found out. But, then again, this costume was a bit more conservative than most gypsy costumes. Maybe I could pull it off. I sighed deeply before reaching for the costume. There was even a wig, shoes, everything.

"You may change over here, Casey," I heard someone say. I glanced over and saw Kyoya gesturing towards another room. "Come out when you're ready." I nodded hesitantly before making my way over to the room. As I entered the room, I closed the door slowly behind me.

Laying the outfit out on a random chair, I stared helplessly at the object like it was going to be the death of me.

"Me and my big mouth…I didn't even take into consideration the insane cosplays that Tamaki comes up with…" I mused out loud. I heard the door open and close and whipped around quickly, expecting it to be one of the guys coming in randomly.

"Relax, it's just me," the intruder said. I recognized her immediately.

"Geeze, Haruhi. You scared the crap out of me…" I said. She smirked slightly.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she said. She had in her hand what looked like a bundle of clothes.

"Guess Tamaki talked you into it, huh?" I asked amusingly. She just rolled her eyes.

"He didn't give me much of a choice…But, enough about me. I do this all the time. It's you we need to worry about. How are you going to pull that off? I mean…" she glanced slightly at my chest and then back to my face. "…you barely pull it off now. You tailor all of your uniforms these days, don't you?"

"Yeah…Maybe I could get away with…saying they're fake?" I said hopelessly. Haruhi shared the same expression and we both dropped our heads simultaneously in defeat.

"Guess there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Haruhi said. I nodded slowly before carefully undressing and changing into the dreaded outfit.

As I started changing, I noticed that the outfit fit me almost perfectly. This didn't help my psyche at all, thinking that this was set up. Although, it did however, seem a bit baggy, which hid a bit more of my curved feminine image. Making sure that the wrap was still in place around my chest as tight as I could make it, I worked on placing the wig and the huge, gaudy jewelry that accompanied the outfit, ending with the simple sandals for the shoes. When I was finished, I walked over to a mirror and took one look at myself before sighing in defeat.

"It's hopeless…" I said out loud. Haruhi chuckled. I turned around and looked at her outfit. She looked like a true pirate, with the stereotypical eye patch and everything.

"It's not _that_ bad. You still have the cover-up of your curves being fake. It'll at least fool the ladies. The guys, well, we'll have to just think of something later on. But, we should probably hurry up. They're probably wondering what's taking us so long," Haruhi said. I groaned in disgust before taking one more look in the mirror.

"Yeah…This is all fake, alright. Even a blind person would recognize these curves in an instant," I said. We both laughed a bit before walking out.

The best way to describe the reaction when I walked out of that room; Shock, Disbelief, maybe even a little Awe. I stood there uncomfortably for a few moments before I heard someone speak up.

"U-Um…Casey," I heard Tamaki nervously say. "Is that…you?" He asked.

_"Oh great…Already, I need to come up with something fast."_

"There was a body suit with the outfit."

I glanced to the side as Haruhi spoke the words. My eyes widened slightly before snapping back to attention.

"Yeah, there was a body suit lying inside the box the costume came in, so I grabbed it before walking back to the other room," I continued. The words flowed out of my mouth freely as if it really were the truth.

"Oh…" Tamaki said before grinning. "Well, now that everyone is present, it is time to officially open the club for the day! Gentlemen!"

"Sir!" Came the anonymous sound from the rest of us. While Tamaki gave us all one of his famous 'pep-talks', I leaned over to Haruhi.

"Thanks for that," I said. She nodded.

"No problem. You have to understand, this is Tamaki we're talking about," she said with a smirk. I just chuckled slightly before turning back to Tamaki. Suddenly, guests started pouring in, staring and gawking at the set before them. I turned on my charm and began tending to guests.

Obviously, everyone wanted to know exactly how I managed to pull off the outfit. I told them exactly what they wanted to hear:

"Why, don't you think it makes me rather beautiful?" In my normal voice, as opposed to my deeper tone I would normally use.

It was going rather well. The guests were happy, all the guys played their parts wonderfully. Mori-sempai and Hani-sempai put on a wonderful 'strong men' act, while Hikaru and Kaoru played around a little in their conformed bodies. Kyoya was busy tending to ladies just as Haruhi and I, but in an almost…dark way? Typical behavior of the Shadow King. Tamaki was running around, acting as a ringleader, announcing different Hosts and their small acts they put on. It was all pretty fun.

The rest of the day went on just like that, guests filing in and out as the hours dragged on, and I was beginning to finally feel the tiredness from doing this. But, just as I was about to walk over to deliver a tray of tea to a nearby table, the sensation hit me, and I suddenly felt myself dropping to the ground. The tray crashed to the floor and I sat on my knees trying to make sense of what had just happened.

It took me a while to register what had just happened, and that people were shaking me and calling my name.

"CASEY!" I heard and finally felt the slap across my face. I snapped my head up and stared at who had just struck me; it was Haruhi. She was worriedly standing over me.

"Are you alright?!" she asked frantically. I blinked a few times before glancing around at the mess I had just made. My eyes got wide as I quickly stood up and started cleaning up the mess.

"I-I'm so sorry," I said weakly, still making sure to use a deeper tone to hide my shakiness. "I'll clean this up immediately."

"Ladies, I believe it is time we bring things to a close for this evening!" I heard Tamaki announce. It was followed by a series of audible sadness and disappointment. "We thank you all for coming, and hope to see you soon!" He finished with a wink, as guests started filing out, and all was silent again, except for the sounds of myself cleaning up the broken pieces of teapots/teacups and cleaning up the spilt tea.

"Casey, are you sure you're feeling okay?" I heard Tamaki ask. I looked up at him apologetically, trying desperately to hide what was really going on inside my head and preventing it from showing on my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired is all. I'm really sorry for this. I'll have it cleaned up soon…" I trailed off as the Twins eased me up off of the floor.

"Don't worry about it," Hikaru said.

"We'll have it cleaned up. You just go change and head home," Kaoru finished.

"You're exhausted." They said in unison. I looked at both of them before nodding.

"Yeah…I guess so," I said quietly. "Thanks." I headed back for the room slowly, making sure not to fall over again, before shutting the door behind me slowly and collapsing to my knees again.

"Wow…That was new…" I mused out loud. "Didn't think that would happen for a while yet…" I sat on the floor for a while, recomposing myself, before getting up slowly to change back into my uniform.

In the middle of changing my shirt, I stopped to readjust my bandages around my chest.

"Geeze…These are becoming a nuisance…" I said out loud. I heard the door open, and smirked as I started turning around. "Haruhi, you really need to learn to knock when-" I stopped dead in my sentence as I stood staring into the eyes of one of the people who I definitely did _not_ want to see me like this.

"K-Kyoya-sempai…?!" I said quietly.

* * *

_**Woo~! Finished! Once again, I apologize deeply for the insanely long-term updating. Too much stuff going on over the last few months for me to get ANY writing in. BUT, with that said, I am pleased to say that I have an unlimited amount of time to write, now! So, updates should be a little more frequent.**_

For those of you who have read my stories, you know how much I appreciate feedback. So, even if you didn't like the chapter, please feel free to review! It helps the story-writing process go so much smoother! So, those of you lurking in the shadows reading this story and not reviewing, shame on you! I kid! I kid! *Smirk* But, the feedback is very much appreciated. So, leave a little note, if you wouldn't mind! It helps me know that my stories are reaching everyone.

Guess I'll stop talking now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Rate, Review, Comment, Criticize, the works! See you next chapter!

Ciao!

~Keii-chan~


	3. Chapter 3

_**I am SOOOO sorry, everyone! School life took over and I couldn't get any writing in edgewise! But, I promise, now that summer has started, I'll have plenty of time to work on this story and get it done…in a reasonable amount of time, hopefully. So, as not to delay this chapter any longer, I'll just skip the intro and go right to the story!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran Highschool Host Club…**_

* * *

I just stood there staring. That's all I really could do. I was frozen where I stood, and I didn't move a muscle in fear of striking up a conversation that I more or less wanted to avoid completely. However, be that as it may, all he did was place a box right inside the door, bowed politely for a fraction of a second, and left without a word. It all happened so fast, I was questioning whether or not it actually happened. I dropped straight to my knees in defeat.

"What…just happened?" I said quietly, knowing fully well that I wouldn't get an answer anyway. I sat there shaking slightly. Then it dawned on me; What would I do if Kyoya tells Tamaki…? What would I say? I originally wanted to tell them, but not like this…And especially not now!

After a few moments of regaining my composure, I quickly changed into my uniform, neatly placed the costume and its contents back into the box and slowly walked over to the door. As I reached for the handle, I heard some commotion going on from the other side of the door.

_"Great…He's already told them…"_ I thought to myself. I slowly turned the handle on the door and braced myself for the rejection. However, when I opened the door, I was shocked to see Tamaki running around chasing Haruhi with yet another costume. Did Kyoya just not tell them? Or did he really see me? None the less, I acted completely normal otherwise.

"Kei-chan~!" I heard Hani-sempai call. He came bouncing over to me with Mori-sempai in tow. "Are you feeling better?" I smiled at him.

"I am, Hani-sempai. Thank you for asking," I said. It seems as though Kyoya had said nothing. Thank goodness…

"Well, everyone, I should get going," I said. "I have some things to get done at home. Tamaki stopped chasing Haruhi and reverted back to his charming self again as he walked over to me.

"Very well, Casey," he said. "Don't push yourself so hard next time."

"Hey, Casey," Haruhi said. "Wait up for me, I'll walk you home." I nodded softly. Haruhi grabbed her things and we walked out of the club room quickly. As soon as we were a good distance away from the club room, the façade broke and I suddenly found myself shaking like crazy.

"H-Haruhi…" I managed to say. She stopped me right there.

"I know. I saw him walk in," she said.

"And you didn't stop him!?" I practically yelled. She flinched a little bit at my sudden outburst but explained level-headedly.

"I'm sorry, but by the time I noticed him, he had already been turning the handle. But, don't worry. As soon as he walked out, I pulled him aside quickly and had a short but sufficient chat with him before Tamaki decided to play dress-up. Everything's fine. He's perfectly okay with you being there. Actually, since you've been coming, we've had more guests than ever, which means more profit for the club." I looked at Haruhi with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, you sound a lot like Kyoya," I said. Shortly after, followed a very much-needed laugh from the both of us. I felt better after that. I was happy to know that my life wasn't about to end quite yet. Haruhi and I walked back to my house together and stopped on my door step.

"Would you like to come inside? I'll make some tea," I offered. Haruhi smiled and nodded happily.

"Sure, I could use a good cup of tea." We both entered and I groped along the wall for the light switch.

"Mom must be out again," I thought out loud. "Make yourself at home. I'll throw the kettle on and we can sit at the kitchen table while we wait for the water to boil and chat for a bit." Haruhi looked around.

"Actuallly, may I use your restroom quick?" I smirked slightly and nodded, gesturing down the hallway in the process.

"Sure. First door on your left," I said. Haruhi nodded before quickly walking off down the hallway.

I was busy preparing the cups when my mind wandered back to today's events.

**_Flashback_**

_I suddenly felt myself dropping to the ground. The tray crashed to the floor and I sat on my knees trying to make sense of what had just happened._

_It took me a while to register what had just happened, and that people were shaking me and calling my name._

_"CASEY!" I heard and finally felt the slap across my face. I snapped my head up and stared at who had just struck me; it was Haruhi. She was worriedly standing over me._

_"Are you alright?!" she asked frantically. I blinked a few times before glancing around at the mess I had just made. My eyes got wide as I quickly stood up and started cleaning up the mess._

_"I-I'm so sorry," I said weakly, still making sure to use a deeper tone to hide my shakiness. "I'll clean this up immediately."_

_"Ladies, I believe it is time we bring things to a close for this evening!" I heard Tamaki announce. It was followed by a series of audible sadness and disappointment. "We thank you all for coming, and hope to see you soon!" He finished with a wink, as guests started filing out, and all was silent again, except for the sounds of myself cleaning up the broken pieces of teapots/teacups and cleaning up the spilt tea._

_"Casey, are you sure you're feeling okay?" I heard Tamaki ask. I looked up at him apologetically, trying desperately to hide what was really going on inside my head and preventing it from showing on my face._

_"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired is all. I'm really sorry for this. I'll have it cleaned up soon…" I trailed off as the Twins eased me up off of the floor._

_"Don't worry about it," Hikaru said._

_"We'll have it cleaned up. You just go change and head home," Kaoru finished._

_"You're exhausted." They said in unison. I looked at both of them before nodding._

_"Yeah…I guess so," I said quietly. "Thanks." I headed back for the room slowly, making sure not to fall over again, before shutting the door behind me slowly and collapsing to my knees again._

**_ End Flashback_**

"Maybe it was a fluke…The episodes weren't supposed to happen yet…" I mused out loud.

"Hey, Casey!" I heard Haruhi call. I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Haruhi call. I turned and saw her standing in the doorway to the bathroom holding something.

"Sorry, I almost knocked these off of the sink," Haruhi said. "Your mom really needs to learn to put her pills in a more convenient spot." I looked at the pill bottle and my eyes widened immediately as I rushed over to her frantically.

"Oh! Um…These are…Yes, these are my mother's!" I frantically stumbled over my words as I swiped the bottle from her. "I'll just take these and put them away!" I laughed nervously as I ran back to put said pill bottle in a cabinet and returned within a matter of ten seconds. Haruhi looked at me suspiciously.

"Casey, is everything alri-" Haruhi was cut off by the sounding of the kettle. Saved by the bell!

"Oh! Water's done! I'll just go get that tea now!" I left a little too quickly and left Haruhi more confused than every. Thankfully, she pressed the matter no further.

After we had our tea and we were comfortably sitting at the table, Haruhi decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, where's your mom?" she asked. I shrugged lazily.

"I don't really know. Probably out with friends or something. She really isn't around much anymore due to work and hanging out with friends," I said nonchalantly. Haruhi gave me a concerned look, which I caught right away and smiled softly at her. "Don't worry. I have my books and my music. I'm content by myself, anymore."

"But, you shouldn't be by yourself, that's the thing," Haruhi said. "The next time your mom's away, you should give me a call. I'll be more than happy to come stay with you for a while." I smiled softly at her.

"Thanks, Haruhi," I said. "I'll keep that in mind." I grinned. "So, do you want to see what I've been working on? It's kind of my own little side-project I have going on. I haven't been able to work on it lately because of the concert coming up, but I can show you what I have so far." I happily bounced over to the living room, practically dragging Haruhi with me. I pulled her over to our up-right piano in the corner.

"Wow! I didn't even notice this when we came in!" Haruhi said in excitement. "It's very well-kept."

"Yeah, I tend to be a little more boisterous with my cleaning when it comes to my piano," I sad a little sheepishly. "I clean it a little too much…In fact…" I wiped a streak of dust that happened to be forming along the base of the music stand. "…I seem to have missed the third cleaning for today." This gained me a laugh from Haruhi which made me grin.

"So, what is it you wanted to show me?" Haruhi asked. I grinned happily and reached along the side of the piano and picked up a folder.

"I've been working on this for a little while…" I said. I pulled out some hand-written sheet music with a lyrics sheet. Haruhi smiled slightly.

"You've been writing a song?" she asked. "That's amazing!" I smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, but it isn't finished yet. I only have the basic melody line and the chorus. Still need to work on another verse and the bridge yet…But it's coming along," I explained. "I was wondering if you'd like to listen to what I have so far?" Haruhi smiled happily.

"Of course! I've never heard you sing before, so this should be great!" I smiled sadly.

"Great, that's encouraging. So if I suck, that'll be the first impression you get of my singing," I said jokingly.

"Oh, just go, already!" Haruhi said. I laughed slightly before placing my hands softly on the piano and started the main piano line.

The sound was a slightly sad and melancholy melody line. It set the base preface of the song up until the lyrics…

_Steady rain falls soft upon the ground,_

_Clearly showing that there's no one around._

_Heavy rain clouds forming up ahead,_

_Never showing that the sun shines again._

_Do you see me now,_

_Staring at my feet?_

_Are you watching me?_

_Watching me…_

_Watching me…_

I ran my fingers up and down the piano, feeling the emotions run out through my voice. I did a simple run that lead right into the chorus.

_Watching you,_

_Watching me._

_Can't you see me,_

_Watching you watching me?_

_Can't you see me now,_

_Staring at my feet?_

_God, it kills me!_

_Watching you watching me…_

I went into what was essentially to be an instrumental break that would lead into another verse, but I left it at that as I stopped abruptly in my playing and looked at Haruhi for approval. She grinned happily at me.

"That was great! You wrote that?" she asked. I nodded sheepishly. Haruhi clapped lightly before glancing at the clock.

"Well, I should probably get home now," she said. "Thanks a lot for the tea and the song, Casey. I really enjoyed it. I hope you get it finished soon so I can hear the rest of it." Haruhi stood up slowly and I followed her to the door.

"See you tomorrow, then?" I said. She nodded.

"See you tomorrow. And, like I said, don't worry about Kyoya-sempai. He's good at keeping secrets, trust me," Haruhi explained. I nodded slightly before bidding her farewell and shutting the door quietly.

"I suppose I should get ready for bed," I mused out loud. I took one last glance at the piano before making my way slowly to my bedroom.

I changed into some more comfortable clothes to sleep in and walked off to the bathroom to finish my daily routine before bed. I brushed my teeth and looked myself in the mirror.

"Keeping secrets, huh? Well, at least it'll be easy for him to keep that kind of a secret…Keeping secrets doesn't always have the best ending…However…" I reached in the cabinet, pulled out the container of pills, and took two of them before placing them back in the cabinet.

"It's…just not the easiest to tell the truth sometimes…"

I quickly walked back to my room, turned on my music and crawled into bed, burying myself under my covers before slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

_I was slowly coming back to consciousness. The distant sound of a heart monitor could be heard in the background. Though, even though I could hear everything and my eyes were open, everything still looked rather blurry. That's when I heard the muffled sounds of voices._

_"What do you mean she's dying?" I heard someone say. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. Sounded like a girl, though._

_"Please calm down, miss. We're doing everything we can. She's been here multiple times before, and these episodes take time. Her body just needs time to reset itself, and it will be completely fine," I heard another voice explain._

_"Fine!? My friend is in there dying and all you have to give me is 'Everything will be okay?' She collapsed and fell down a flight and a half of stairs! How do you expect me to react!?" The other conflicted. I heard muffled sounds of sobbing._

_"How long do you predict her recovery will take?" I heard another voice ask. This one was different. It was definitely a male voice. But…who's?_

_"It's hard to say. Judging by the amount of trauma she endured, it could be a little more than a few days. On average, though, it takes 2 to 3 days to recover. I expect she'll be awake in no more than a week. You are more than welcome to visit her in the process," the voice explained. Suddenly, I heard the door burst in and a blurry figure hover over top of me._

_"Why, Casey?!" I heard them shouting. It was the girl's voice. "Why didn't you tell us?!" I was being shaken slightly and I could feel tears dropping onto my face._

_"That's enough…She needs to rest…" I heard the male voice say in a soothing tone. There was still, however, a certain shakiness to his voice._

_"Casey…Wake up," I heard the hopeless voice of the girl. "I said, __**WAKE UP!**__"_

* * *

I snapped awake, jolted by the sudden crack of thunder and flash of lightening from the severe storm outside. I sighed with relief as I leaned against the headboard of my bed.

"Just a dream…" I mused out loud. I stared out my window and listened to the storm and the patter of rain on my window.

"I hope that's all it was…"

* * *

**_Well, there you guys go! I know it's a little shorter than usual, but I just wanted to appease you guys with another story! Please, please, PLEASE pass this story on to your friends, as I really need reviews, or else this kind of delay may happen again. I apologize again for that…._**

**_Also, the lyrics in the story are all my own because…You guessed it! I am actually writing a song and those are actually the lyrics I have so far. I know they're not the best, but if you have any questions about the format of the lyrics or what they mean (as they look a little confusing at first glance), feel free to PM me. I'll be more than happy to explain them!_**

**_Well, guess I'll stop rambling now and get working on my next chapter! Hope you enjoyed this so far, and I promise there won't be any more delays such as this again._**

**_Rate, Review, Comment, and Criticize!_**

**_And, as always…_**

**_Ciao!_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Well~ so much for my frequent updating schedule…Inspiration comes so little these days…But, I AM trying, people! I am! On to the chapter…**_

* * *

"Casey~." The twins called in unison. Class had just ended and I was ready to head to my psychology class. I turned to them regardless.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"You coming to club today?" Hikaru asked.

"Because Kyoya-sempai said you didn't have to if you didn't want to." Kaoru finished.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked. I was a little curious as to why Kyoya was telling them this. Was he trying to keep me from coming now that he knows my little secret?

"Well, because of your little incident last time…Kyoya said there were a few guests that were a little scared." Hikaru said a little awkwardly.

"You sure everything's alright?" Kaoru asked.

I didn't get it. Why all the sudden interest?

"Everything's fine, guys. And, I'll be at club today, same as always. I just need to leave a little early today. I have plans later," I explained. "Besides, I was just a little tired. That's all that happened."

"Alright, then," They said in unison. "Well, see you later then, Casey." They walked out of the room quickly, leaving me alone to my thoughts. Suddenly, I heard the bell for the next class to start.

"Dang it!" I breathed as I ran straight out of the classroom and down the hallway to my next class. I ran straight into the room frantically, gaining a death-educing glare from my _favorite_ teacher.

"Mr. Klinger," he growled. I froze where I stood. "Please stay after class into your lunch time."

I bowed politely towards him in apology.

"Yes, sir," I said quietly, before taking my seat in the back of the room. _"Great…The Twins held me up for class. They'll hear about this later on…"_

After the very painful and annoying lecture from my teacher, I quickly gathered my things and headed straight to the lunch room. I didn't even want to eat after that conversation. Being called irresponsible and apathetic made my stomach turn and just made me so sick. I didn't even have the energy to scold the Twins once I saw them.

"Casey?" they asked in unison.

"You look like you're about to throw up," Hikaru said. I just waved it off.

"I'm fine. Just another painful lecture from my Psychology teacher. After talking to you two, I ended up being a little late to class and was told to stay after." I sat down at the table next to Haruhi and just put my head on the table face-down.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I heard Haruhi ask. I made a barely audible sound of confirmation and just sat there in silence. The Twins however, decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, what ideas has the boss come up with for the ladies today?" Hikaru asked. I heard Haruhi groan from beside me.

"It's going to be an outdoor event today. Apparently they've turned some pond from the gardens into an ice-skating rink and we're serving the ladies hot beverages and teaching them to skate…etcetera, etcetera…" Haruhi explained rather lazily. She didn't seem to fond of the idea. I lifted my head slightly.

"Ice skating?" I asked. "I can't ice skate. The first time I tried ice skating, I had a rather terrifying experience with almost falling through the ice…So, yeah. No ice skating for me," I explained. "How long is it supposed to run for?"

"It's supposed to run pretty long into the night because Tamaki-sempai requested lanterns and lights to be put up to light up the area quite nicely when it gets dark," Haruhi explained.

"It's supposed to be _freezing_ tonight, I hope he knows," I commented. Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I tried explaining that to him. The ladies aren't going to stay for long if it's too cold. However, he insisted on it…"

"Well, I have to leave a little earlier today," I said lazily as I put my head back down on the table.

"Hm? Why's that?" Haruhi asked. I just waved the question off.

"I have some stuff going on later…" I said without lifting my head from the table.

"What kind of stuff?" the Twins asked. I was getting a little tired of the curiosity.

"If you must know…" I started. I lifted my head slightly. "I have to work later," I finished. " I have to leave about 15 minutes early to get there in time."

"I never knew you had a job," Haruhi commented. "When did this start?" I shrugged lazily.

"A few weeks ago, I guess. I needed to pick up a couple more hours, though," I said nonchalantly. I put my head back down. "You're just gonna have to take my place once I leave…"

Silence followed afterwards and we all spent the duration of the lunch in silence. When it was time to go to the next class, Haruhi pulled me aside. I really didn't want to talk right now, even if it only was Haruhi.

"Are you sure you're alright? You don't look too good," she asked. I shrugged slightly.

"To be completely honest, I really don't know. I just feel really sick to my stomach and my head is pounding. Probably because I haven't eaten anything since this morning. It'll pass eventually."

"You should go to the nurse. I can walk you there if you want," Haruhi offered. I just waved it off.

"Nah, we should just get to class. I don't really need to be late to another class and get another lecture like I did earlier," I said with a smirk. Haruhi smiled slightly and nodded. We walked off to class and not another word was said on the matter.

* * *

Later on at club, I was busily treating a few of the ladies some hot beverages, until one of them came up to me, slightly nervous.

_"Ah, another one,"_ I mused in my mind.

"U-Um…Excuse me, Casey," she stuttered. I smiled my famous host smile.

"Yes? How may I help you, miss?" I said in my smoothest voice possible. Her face went a deep red.

"M-May I have…a cup of white hot chocolate, p-please?" she asked. I smiled gently.

"Of course, my lady," I said. I poured her a cup of said drink and handed it to her, brushing her hands for a moment as the cup was transferred from my hands to hers.

"Th-Thank you," she said nervously. "It's rather cold out, don't you think?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yes, it is. But the forecast called for colder, so you could say we're lucky," I said. I looked at her with a little concern. "Are you still cold, my lady?" She nodded shyly. I smiled smoothly at her before placing an arm around her shoulders and holding her close. Her face went redder than the scarf she was wearing at the contact. "Better?" I asked with that smile again.

"Y-Yes," she said nervously. I smiled at her.

"Good. Now, I believe it is your turn to get on the ice, my lady. Why don't you make your way over to our prince, and he shall help you," I explained smoothly. She nodded and smiled happily before slowly making her way over to the ice rink. I smiled before making my way around to check on more guests. As I was walking, I noticed Kyoya-sempai taking a break from the ladies and writing in that notorious little black book of his. I wandered over to him, making sure to stay out of ear-shot of anyone important (mainly _everyone_ there).

"Hey, Kyoya-sempai," I said nervously as I wandered over to him. He looked up slightly from his book before turning his gaze back down again.

"Hello, there," he said nonchalantly. I cringed a little, thinking about the thoughts running through his head about me right now. Given the current situation, he probably thinks a little lesser of me than before.

"So, did Tamaki-sempai tell you about my having to leave a little earlier today?" I asked. He looked at me slightly before nodding.

"Yes, he informed me as soon as club started. We'll find someone to fill you in, but just for today. We can't have any cancellations mid-club activities," he explained a little coldly. I cringed slightly but nodded.

"Yes, I understand. I'll make sure to schedule my other priorities around club activities next time," I said a little sheepishly.

"By the way, as far as your little predicament goes…" he started. His eyes darted towards me slightly. "I assure you that your secret is safe. Just make sure you lock the door next time so as that type of incident doesn't happen again." His voice softened slightly at his last comment and I looked up to see him smiling slightly down at me. I could feel my face heat up slightly and I turned my head from him.

"U-Um…Thank you…" I said nervously. I heard him chuckle slightly. I smiled softly before looking down at my watch.

"Oh, I should get going," I said. Just as I said that, a strong gust of wind knocked me back a bit, setting me off-balance. I felt a pair of arms grab me before I fell, and soon I was back up on my feet again.

"Oh dear," Tamaki said slightly. "It looks as though we'll have to bring our club to a close a little earlier than expected. It seems that a small storm is going to pick up tonight." Just as Tamaki explained this, snow started plentifully falling from the sky. All the ladies and the rest of the host club started packing everything up, leaving only the lanterns to light the way for the rest of the ladies to leave.

I looked over, and noticed that the arms hadn't left my waist. But, as quickly as I noticed them, they were back to their owner.

"Thanks for that, Kyoya-sempai…" I said a little sheepishly. I could feel the blush creeping on my face again.

"Not at all. Clumsiness isn't really something I would peg you to have, though," he said with a smirk. I chuckled softly.

"Yeah, well the wind caught me off-guard."

"Speaking of which, do you have a ride home?" Kyoya asked. I looked up at him and hesitated before I answered.

"I…Usually walk home with Haruhi," I explained. "I also walk to work since it isn't too far from home."

"In this storm?" Kyoya asked. He raised an eyebrow disapprovingly.

"What? Now that you know my little secret, I'm suddenly a helpless little girl?" The sentence slipped out before I got a chance to think. Soon, I was covering my mouth viciously staring into the slightly shocked expression of the one known to be called the 'Shadow King.' "I-I'm sorry, Kyoya-sempai. It just…slipped out. I didn't mean to sound rude, honest." He just smirked and waved it off.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Still, though. I can offer you a ride home and to your workplace. Nobody should walk in this weather; Male or female." I smirked slightly before nodding.

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that," I said. He nodded before leading us both inside with the ladies and the rest of the hosts. When we came in, most of the ladies had left, and I was about to walk out before the Twins stopped me.

"Casey! We want to see where you work!" the Twins said in unison.

"Since club ended early, we have nothing to do," Kaoru started.

"We'll be bored if we just go home, so we thought…" Hikaru continued.

"We could go and see what you do!" they finished in unison. I flinched slightly at the thought. They couldn't know where I worked. They'd know immediately my little secret if they saw.

"Oh, um…" I fumbled over my words a bit before finding them again. "You should get home, anyway. This storm looks like it's going to get bad."

"Awe~!" the Twins cried in unison, but gave up rather easily. I'm sure they were tired anyway.

"Well, shall we get going?" I heard Kyoya-sempai ask. I turned to him and nodded.

"Sure," I said. I turned to Haruhi. "Haruhi, you don't have a ride home do you?" I asked. She just nodded.

"Yeah, my dad's coming to pick me up. He should be here soon."

"Alright, then." I turned to Kyoya. "Let's get going," I said. We walked out, leaving a very confused bunch of hosts at the sight of me leaving with Kyoya. But, that wouldn't become apparent until much, much later.

I was greeted by the sight of a very lavish limo at the front entrance to the school. Feeling very small suddenly, I walked up to the door as a man walked up to it before me and opened the door for me. I nodded thankfully towards the man before gingerly sliding into the lavish seats. Kyoya-sempai entered second as the door was shut behind him and the limo started moving not a moment after.

"This is…really nice," I mused out loud, gaining a slightly amused look from Kyoya-sempai.

"I'm glad you like it. Now, which way is your house, then?"

I explained to him where to go and in turn, relayed it to the driver via a small phone in the back of the limo. As we were driving, a thought occurred to me.

"You're…probably wondering why all the secrecy about my gender," I said quietly. I glanced at Kyoya who only looked at me with curiosity.

"Well, yes," he started. "However, I really won't push you to explain why. I had figured you had a good reason and didn't think much more on it." I sighed slightly.

"Well, to be completely honest," I started. "I was already mistaken for a male when I came here, so I figured I would just stick with it. But, as time went on, I found that I really enjoyed playing the male role. I don't like females very much to begin with, and I'm not your average female, either. I don't like the whole stereotypical makeup-crazed and hair-obsessed female assumptions. I just like…being me, I suppose…" I rested my chin on my hand as I stared out the window lazily.

"Such an interesting person…" Kyoya-sempai commented quietly. I looked at him and smirked slightly.

"Interesting is one way of putting it…" I chuckled slightly as we pulled up to my house. "Thanks, Kyoya-sempai, but you really don't need to drive me to work, too. I can walk, honestly."

"Casey, you needn't worry. I have plenty of time to spare," Kyoya-sempai stated. I sighed slightly.

"Alright, then. You may not like it, though…" I warned him. I got out of the Limo and ran into the house quickly to grab my work bag that had some pre-packed clothes inside. I changed out of my uniform quickly and into some casual clothes, removing the wrap around my chest. When I went to work, I went as my true gender. After a quick look in my mirror, I ran back out of the house and back to the limo. When I got in, Kyoya-sempai looked at me a little curiously before signaling for the driver to pull away.

"So, I'm guessing this is a place where you don't really see people you know from school?" Kyoya asked. I nodded a little sheepishly.

"Yeah…Nobody from Ouran would ever come here…" I explained quietly, avoiding eye-contact with him.

"Why is that?" I heard him ask.

"You'll see…" I simply said. As we rounded the street corner, the workplace in question came into sight, and I said to stop. When we pulled up along the sidewalk, Kyoya looked at me incredulously.

"_This_ is where you work?" He asked. I nodded sheepishly.

"It…really isn't very dignified… But, it pays the bills, you know?" I said. I got out of the limo slowly before turning back to thank Kyoya.

"Thanks a lot for the ride. I appreciate it," I said kindly. He nodded before looking at me curiously.

"Will you need a ride back home as well? The weather doesn't look like it's letting up any time soon," he offered. I politely shook my head, though.

"No, but thank you, Kyoya. I'll get one of my friends here to drive me home if the weather's bad enough," I explained. Our conversation was interrupted, however, by a very familiar voice.

"Casey! Hurry up, you're up, soon!"

"Yes, Frank. I'm coming!" I called behind me. I turned back to the limo. "I should go. Thanks again for the ride."

"Of course," he said with a soft smile. I smiled back at him sweetly before running into the building.

My place of employment wasn't really the kind of place you would expect me to work at. I worked at a more popular club as an entertainer of sorts. As soon as I ran inside, I ran straight to my dressing room to change into my outfit. The clothes I had to wear were a little more provocative than I was used to…But, hey, it's good money, right? As I pulled on the very skimpy-looking outfit, there was a knock at my door and a voice followed.

"Casey, you're on in 10 minutes," the voice said.

"Okay, thanks. I'm almost done," I called. I put on some quick makeup before walking out to head backstage. As I made my way there, I went over my routine in my head.

"Hey, girl. Break a leg out there," I heard someone say. I smiled at my co-worker before nodding in thanks.

"Thanks. How are the men tonight?" she looked at me and rolled her eyes.

"A little more rowdy than usual. My advice, keep away from the edge tonight. I almost got pulled into the crowd a few times," she said. I nodded towards her.

"Alright, thanks. Looks like I'm up, so I'll see you after work, 'kay?" I said. She nodded and waved before walking back down the hallway. I noticed a few tears on her outfit. She wasn't kidding about them being a bit rowdy.

I walked back behind the curtain backstage and waited patiently.

"And now, our main performance for the night!" a voice echoed throughout the club. "You all know her very well. She's bee in our employment for about 4 weeks, but has shown very wonderful progress and has become the main event! Not bad for a newbie, huh?" Shouts and whistles echoed from the audience. I rolled my eyes at it.

_"Just get on with it, already…I want to go home…"_ I complained in my mind.

"I am very proud to announce our next act, Miss Casey!" the announcer sounded. The curtains opened and the very suggestive music began playing as I started walking out towards the center of the stage where a very unreasonably decorative pole waited for me.

The sounds of whistles and calls from men filled the room upon my entry. I started my routine, putting my full effort into it as I danced around the pole, posing as such to match the music and the lyrics. I began my climb on the pole. As I reached the top, I managed to position myself as such so I could grip the pole with my legs and pose for quite a while for the men to take pictures and marvel at the act.

"Work it, honey!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"Woo~!"

The usual calls were just thrown at me as I continued my routine, gliding up and down the pole effortlessly. I felt like this was going on forever, but then, I heard the song come to the final chorus, and I let myself slowly slide down the pole, posing upside down for the final position.

The song ended and I felt myself ease off the pole to bow at the crowd. However, not thinking, I stepped a little too close to the edge of the stage, and the men who were positioned against the edge of the stage, started cooing and grabbing at me.

"Come on, baby! You can use my pole, anytime!"

"You know you wanna come home with me."

Comments such as this filled the air as the men tried yanking me off-stage. I began calling for help, but before anyone came, I was yanked to the floor of the stage. Finally, having enough of this, my hand curled up into a fist and I sent a punch flying at one of the men, making him double backwards into the crowd.

"You little tramp, you!" I heard one of the men say, and I felt a strong punch sent flying towards my face. Before I could even react, I found myself curled up on the floor, gripping my face and head as the men got up on the stage and started beating on me mercilessly.

"Stop this! Get off the stage, now!" I heard someone boom over the commotion. I felt the men being pulled away by security and other on-hand help. I sat up on my knees, gripping my eye and feeling the hot tears running down my face. I looked out to the crowd at all the shocked faces and even a few cameras taking pictures.

Then, I saw him. In the back of the room on a single stool. He was staring with complete and utter shock and concern. Why was he here? He just saw me get half-beaten to death. Kyoya. I quickly got to my feet, still gripping my face in pain, and ran backstage to my dressing room and slammed the door shut. I slammed my head down on the table with all my makeup on it and just cried my eyes out.

I heard a knock at my door and a familiar voice called through.

"Casey, honey? Are you okay?" It was my good friend and co-worker. I lifted my head and wiped away the streaks of makeup that were running down my face before I answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine…I'm just cleaning myself up…" I called.

"Well, when you're ready to come back out, a friend of yours is here to take you home," she called. My eyes widened at the thought. I remained silent for a while before calling back out.

"Okay, thanks…" I hesitated before wiping all my makeup off and changing back into some comfortable clothes to go home. Before leaving the room, I looked back in the mirror at my face. I grimaced at what I saw.

"Great…There's already a dark bruise forming…" I mused out loud. I grabbed my duffle-bag before heading towards the door. When I opened the door, I saw exactly who I had expected.

"Hey, Kyoya-sempai," I said, trying to put on my best smile possible. Though, it was a poor attempt, and I'm sure he saw right through it. He stared hard at my eye before taking me by the arm and leading me out of the building.

"We're leaving," was all he said. I cringed at the sudden coldness. Why was he still here, though? I was a little angry that he stayed and just hid in the back of the room.

He lead me out to his limo and opened the door for me, allowing me in first. When I was in and settled, he got in next to me and shut the door quickly. After he was settled himself, he sighed heavily, pushed his glasses up slightly, and turned to me.

"I seriously hope that was a one-time event. Does that usually happen?" he asked coldly. I shook my head without looking at him.

"No. But I've seen a few of those men before. I'm one of the less-provocative actresses at the club, and don't usually interact with the crowd as much as some of the others do. They expected me to, so…Well, you saw what happened…" I said. Kyoya looked at me with concern. "However…" I started. "I think that one guy is gonna be out for quite a while." I chuckled at the thought, which earned me a very unexpected chuckle from Kyoya.

"Yes, that was quite the punch. I didn't expect to see that coming from you," Kyoya said with a smirk. I turned to him and stuck my tongue out at him playfully.

"I guess you really don't know me that well," I said with a wink. I winced a little bit, feeling the pain from the bruise over my eye making its way into a headache. I felt the seat shift as Kyoya made his way over closer to me.

"Let me see it…" He turned my head towards him gently, looking straight at my eye. I could feel my face heating up as his breath brushed against my face.

"It's…n-not that bad," I stumbled foolishly over my words a bit, trying to stay calm at the extremely close proximity between us.

"Nonsense. You'll need to put ice on this right away when we get you home," he said softly. He brushed a stray hair out of my face as he looked me directly in the eyes.

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" I asked quietly. He smiled gently.

"I don't rightly know, myself. But…" he started. "I don't see any harm in it, do you?" He smirked slightly. I smiled at him and shook my head softly.

"Not at all," I said. The limo pulled up to my house as I noticed all the lights were out.

"Looks like your parents aren't home, yet. Will you be alright by yourself?" he asked. I nodded at him.

"Yeah, my mom'll be home soon. Thanks again, Kyoya for the ride," I said with a smile. He nodded at me as I made my way for the door. I paused for a moment. "And…I'm sorry you had to see that tonight." I felt a hand placed over my own as I looked back at Kyoya.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're alright," he said with a smile. I smiled back at him before happily jumping out of the limo. Before I shut the door, I leaned back down to say something.

"You know, the only other person who knows about my true gender at school his Haruhi. I felt like I needed somebody else to know. I'm glad it's you, Kyoya," I said with a smile. He smiled back at me.

"Such an interesting woman…" He said. I smirked before shutting the door and waiting for the limo to pull away. Waving, I waited for them to round the corner before finally taking a look at the plentifully falling snow.

"Wow, it's really coming down. I hope mom makes it home alright tonight," I mused out loud. "Maybe she'll stay at a friend's house, though. She's smarter than that to drive in this mess." I quickly ran up the steps to my front door and let myself in.

Dropping all my stuff on my bedroom floor, I quickly got dressed for bed and flopped face-down onto the covers.

"What a night," I said. "I should probably grab some ice from the freezer and ice this eye for a bit." I made my way back out to the kitchen and opened the freezer, searching for the ice cubes in the back. Grabbing a simple wash rag, I wrapped some of the ice cubes in the rag and made my way into the living room to watch some TV. As I turned on the TV, the news came on.

_"It seems as though Mother Nature has other plans for us, as the snow storm continues to get worse in central areas of the city. Citizens are encouraged to stay indoors for the remainder of the evening until the storm has passed. Reports have shown multiple vehicle accidents along the rural areas of the city as well as a few others along the more populated areas."_

The woman continued the report, as images of accidents from around the are were flashed on the screen. I froze completely when one image in particular caught my eye. I looked carefully and one of the vehicles seemed very familiar to me.

"That's not…mom, is it?" I looked carefully at the picture. "It's too hard to tell…Though, I don't know why she would be in that area." I shrugged it off, telling myself that it was another similar vehicle and shut off the TV. "I should get to bed anyway…"

I removed the ice and put it in the sink to melt before making my way back to my bedroom. I climbed under the covers, put my music on, and let myself fall asleep quite easily.

I was awoken a few hours later by the shrieking of my cell phone. I jolted awake before grabbing it and looking at the number.

"Unknown number…?" I mused. I answered anyway.

"Hello…?" I asked sleepily.

"Hello? Is this Casey Klinger?" the voice on the other line asked.

"This is she…" I replied. I sat up slowly, thinking this was just another one of my mom's friends calling me to let me know my mother was at their place for the night. Though, I could no be prepared for what she was about to say next.

"Oh, ma'am…I'm so sorry for your loss."

* * *

_**Woo~! Cliffy! Once again, I apologize for the late update. Inspiration comes so little, as I explained. However, reviews are more-than-welcome! Also, I know this chapter was a little long, but I didn't know where to stop, so this is a little compensation for not updating as quickly. Well, I suppose I've rambled enough. I'll get started on the next chapter right away!**_

_**Rate, Review, Comment, and Criticize, everyone!**_

_**Ciao!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey, there! Well, I won't delay this any further! Here's the next chapter!**_

* * *

**_General POV_**

Haruhi trudged through the nearly knee-deep snow as she made her way to the academy. As the snow continued to fall, although more lightly than the previous night, the curious brunette noticed that a certain, albeit lighter brunette, was not waiting on their usual meeting corner this morning like usual.

"That's odd…" Haruhi thought out loud. "Maybe she came down with something?" Haruhi brushed it off for the time being and opted for visiting her closest friend later on after school.

As Haruhi went through the gates to the school, she happened to bump into a certain black-haired boy with glasses, leaning lazily against the side of the gate, a glare on his glasses shading his eyes. When she approached, she noticed he seemed a little uneasy.

"Kyoya-sempai?" Haruhi said. He looked at her for a moment, almost studying her lack of company, before speaking up.

"Casey is not with you?" he asked. Haruhi shook her head lightly.

"I guess not. I'm wondering if she didn't catch a cold from this weather. She's pretty prone to getting sick in the winter times, or so I'm told," Haruhi explained lazily. She was glad to be out of earshot of anyone, or else their talk about a _female_ Casey would strike up a few problems. To be honest, she was in fact a bit worried for her friend. But, being who she is, she would never admit that.

"Have you not called her?" Kyoya asked. Haruhi shook her head again.

"I haven't spoken to her since you two left the club yesterday. Did she seem different when you took her home?" Haruhi asked.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up slightly, making the glare on his glasses shield his eyes from anyone, making it hard to read his true expression. He knew a few things, but opted for keeping them to himself, seeing as he knew Casey had kept these things from people for a reason.

"No, I didn't," he said plainly. "I simply took her to work and waited around for a while to take her home. She seemed completely normal." Truth be told, he hated lying, but in this case he opted for not telling the truth. He was worried for the strange girl, but didn't want to cause trouble for anyone else, as hard as that may be.

"You're sure?" Haruhi insisted. Kyoya simply nodded before looking towards the school entrance.

"It seems as though class is about to begin. You should go," Kyoya said flatly. Haruhi studied his expression for a while before nodding and taking her leave. When she was out of sight, Kyoya pulled out his phone and dialed a number quickly. He waited a moment before a line picked up.

"Hello, Ootori Hospital," a woman on the other end stated quickly.

"Yes, this is Kyoya Ootori. I need the records for last night's accident patients. I need to confirm something."

Back in the school, Haruhi alone took her seat in front of the Twins. They took notice to this right away and started questioning her immediately.

"Where's Casey?" they asked in unison. Haruhi shook her head slightly.

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest," Haruhi answered truthfully. "I guess he stayed home today."

"First you're missing from class…" Hikaru started.

"Now Casey," Kaoru finished.

"Seems to be a pattern forming," they said flatly.

"I really don't know where he is-" Haruhi was cut off by the sound of a ruler smacking her desk.

"Mr. Fujioka. Perhaps you would like to join the rest of the class in the lecture for today?" The question had the tone of annoyance, but was still firm enough to snap the brunette back to the front.

"Yes, sir," she simply said. "My apologies." The sound of the Twins trying desperately to suppress their chuckling caught her attention, but she chose to ignore it and turn to her note-taking. Though, the previous conversation never left her mind.

_"Where are you, Casey?"_ she thought.

After class, Haruhi gathered her things and moved on to her next class. Though, on her way there, there was a slight tone coming from the loud-speakers. Everyone seemed to freeze completely as a voice presented itself.

"Haruhi Fujioka. Mr. Haruhi Fujioka to the Chairman's office, if you would."

Haruhi looked up slightly at the speaker above her head before swiftly making her way to said location.

"I wonder what the chairman wants…" she thought out loud. Not wasting any time, Haruhi quickly made her way to the Chairman's office. However, when she opened the door, expecting to see the chairman there, she was instead greeted by police officers, as well as the rest of the Host Club.

"Um…What's going on?" Haruhi asked out loud. There was a long silence. "What's going on?" Haruhi asked again, a little more forcefully. Hani-sempai was the first to speak.

"Keii-chan's missing…" he simply said, hugging his beloved Usa-chan to his chest tightly. Haruhi stood in the doorway for a while, not moving a muscle. Her hands very slowly curled up into fists and her head dropped slightly, just enough for her hair to cover her eyes.

"Haruhi…" Tamaki said quietly, in an almost-attempt to soothe her.

"Save it…" she said harshly. "Do we have any leads?" she asked.

"Well, unfortunately we don't have any leads as to where Casey might have gone…But we do have an idea of why Casey left in the first place," Kyoya explained from across the room. He had been busily sifting through a large file with recent records of accidents filed away inside. He paused on one of them and pulled it out carefully before setting the rest of the file on the nearby desk. His voice turned grim as he read the file aloud.

"At approximately 11:27 P.M. last night, a woman by the name of Trudy Klinger had been on her way home from a business meeting, when her vehicle passed over a patch of ice on the road. Seeing as the tires on her vehicle were not equipped for the snow yet, the vehicle had no traction, and slid across the road. The vehicle flipped two or three times before landing in a ditch. Miss Klinger was killed on impact."

During the whole of the reading, an assortment of thoughts were spinning throughout Haruhi's head. She had known Casey's mother since they moved to Japan. She wasn't all that close with the woman, but close enough to feel quite a lot of pain from the news. Though, more thoughts of curiosity and concern flooded her mind as she thought about where Casey could have run off to.

"So, you believe she ran off because of the death of her mother…" Haruhi mused out loud. Kyoya nodded. "So, why is everyone else here?" Haruhi asked. At this point, a police woman had stepped forward.

"We were ordered to ask those who were closest to Casey some questions regarding her family and to see if they knew anything about their relationship between one another. Unfortunately, we only found out that Casey is typically home by herself…" she explained, turning to Kyoya. "Is that correct?" Kyoya nodded once more, before turning his attention back to the records.

"Yes, well you can add this to your notes," Haruhi started. "Casey _was_ home by herself a lot, but only because Trudy worked so hard to provide for both of them. Having a single mother working multiple jobs isn't easy for a 17 year-old still in school. They were still very close, and spent much time together whenever they could. They were as close as a parent and a child could be." Haruhi took a deep breath before speaking up again. "So, I ask again, do we have any leads?"

"We have sent police forces to search the city, but other than that, I'm afraid all we have to go off of is our intuition and gut on this," the woman explained. To Haruhi, she seemed very sincere, as if she had dealt with this sort of situation before and had the utmost sympathy for the group. In fact, when Haruhi looked around, it seemed that all of the hosts seemed incredibly worried. And, though he would never admit it, Kyoya as well. He was just better at hiding it than the others.

"Well, I suppose I should go look for Casey as well," Haruhi found herself saying.

"We'll help," the Twins spoke up.

"Us, too!" Hani-sempai called out, followed by an inaudible nod from Mori-sempai.

"We'll help however we can," Tamaki said. Even Tamaki was acting completely serious about this. Haruhi was impressed, to say the least.

"I shall speak with the Chairman right now and we will leave immediately," Kyoya said. He walked off to find the Chairman and returned within a matter of what seemed like seconds to Haruhi.

"We should check around her house first, and work our way around town that way," Haruhi suggested. The rest of the hosts nodded before all setting off to find the missing brunette.

Haruhi allowed everyone out first before taking up behind them, only stopped momentarily to notice Kyoya staring off out the window.

"Kyoya-sempai?" she said. He seemed to snap from his thoughts as he turned to her.

"I'm sorry. Just lost in thought, I suppose," he said lazily. Haruhi sighed inwardly before speaking up.

"Don't worry, Kyoya. I'm sure we'll find her," Haruhi said. She smiled sadly up at him, gaining a small one from him as well.

"You're right," he said. "Let's get moving." With that, they all went out to search, in hopes of finding the lost girl.

* * *

**_Casey's POV_**

It was cold. So very cold out that night. And the snow was falling so hard…Why didn't she just stay at the office? She could have called and said she would be home the next day. She didn't have to venture out into that storm. Yet, she did, and now, incredibly, she's gone. Gone from my life. And yet, I couldn't shed a single tear. Couldn't speak. I just felt completely numb and dead inside.

I felt nothing for the death of my mother.

The only thing I could do at the time was run. I ran from the confines of my own home and didn't stop for anything or anyone. I ran until my legs gave out on me and could run no more.

Which is how I ended up where I am now. I sat quietly in an alleyway up against a wall, my hoodie pulled up over my head and my legs pulled tight against my body for warmth. My head was resting on my knees as I stared at the moisture forming in the air from my unsteady breathing. It was so cold, it was affecting my breathing, and I had no way to control it.

I glanced through the small opening of the alleyway to see only a few people coming and going, quickly trying to escape the cold. Incredibly, I wanted to do no such thing. I didn't care if I froze to death sitting in that alleyway. I was numb of all emotions, and just wanted to lay there and be forgotten, and forget.

While I was sitting there, I started thinking about the guys, and what they would think when they found out I wasn't at school, let alone probably announced 'missing' at this point. Kyoya probably would have the secret police sent out at any moment now, all given the order to find me.

And, Haruhi…Poor Haruhi would be heart-broken. I wished to return home, but how could I? I could barely move so as it is. And now, I could feel myself losing consciousness from the cold. I would fall asleep again, and more than likely freeze to death if I slept until night-fall. I struggled to stay awake.

However, just as I started giving up on the attempt, I heard something. Something I didn't expect to hear. Someone calling my name.

I listened again…

Nothing…Perhaps it was my imagination…I settled back down against the wall and closed my eyes again.

"-asey!" I heard in the distance. No! I wasn't going crazy! I sat up slowly again and tried standing up, but to no avail.

_"Help!"_ My voice was very quiet and raspy from the cold. Even someone next to me couldn't hear my voice. I had to try, though.

"Casey~!"

"Keii-chan~!"

"You here?!"

It was the guys! I could feel the numbness leaving my arms and legs as I started dragging myself across the ground out of the alleyway.

_"H-elp…"_ I strained my voice to yell, but still had no voice to use. So, I opted for dragging myself up off of the ground extremely slowly, using the wall for leverage. I heard footsteps approaching, and as soon as I saw the blue Ouran suit, I launched myself forward into their chest and started crying for the first time since last night. I felt my legs give out from underneath me, as a pair of strong arms lifted me off of the ground. I buried my face into their chest, knowing full well I was probably making a scene, but I didn't know what else to do.

"Shh…" the person said in soft tones to try and soothe me. I could feel my breathing steady ever so slightly, and suddenly, could feel my eyes drooping, and was completely enveloped in darkness.

* * *

I could hear the muffled sounds of voices in the distance. I couldn't open my eyes right away, but slowly and surely my eyes opened, to see a number of people standing around me.

"Keii-chan!" I heard Hani-sempai yell. I saw him bounce over to me and kneel next to me. That's when I realized that I was laying on my couch in my living room. I sat up slowly before a pair of hands softly pulled me back down.

"Please don't get up. You were out for quite some time, but you still need to rest yourself," I heard Kyoya say. I looked up at him.

"Can I at least use the rest room?" I asked with a small smirk. Kyoya stared at me for a moment before chuckling a bit.

"Of course," he helped me up to my feet. Haruhi came over and placed an arm around my waist before helping me to the rest room. I got to the door before unwrapping myself.

"Thanks. I'll take it from here," I said with a slight smirk. Haruhi nodded before allowing me in and shutting the door. I slowly walked over to the sink and looked in the mirror at myself. Placing both my hands on the edge of the sink, I hovered there for a moment and just stared at myself.

"Wow, girl…You're a wreck…" I mused out loud. I stood there for a while longer. I reached up and pulled out the pill bottle again, pouring out the last pill in the bottle.

"Looks like I'll need a refill…" I mused out loud again, a little quieter, as to not alert any wandering ears outside the door. I quickly swallowed the pill and placed the bottle back in its spot before turning back to the mirror. Noticing that I was still in my clothes from before, I quickly took off my hoodie and threw it into the laundry basket before turning back to the door.

"Hey, Haruhi? Think you can run to my room for me and grab another pair of clothes?" I called through the door.

"Sure. Anything in particular?" she replied.

"Just a t-shirt, some jeans and a hoodie. I'll leave the coordination of the outfit up to you," I called back.

"Got it," she said. After hearing the footsteps leaving the door, I quickly undressed myself from my shirt and pants, throwing them into the laundry basket as well. It was then when I noticed something.

"Wow…You can almost see my ribs…" I mused out loud. I examined my body a little more in the mirror, tracing my hand up and down my ribcage. This was definitely not here before. I eventually convinced myself that it was just from poor nutrition. I haven't been eating much, anyway, to atone for my skinny waist for work.

I grabbed the brush sitting on the side of the sink and started to brush through my wire-like hair, trying to smoothen it out a little more. It was easier to manage short, but I still missed my long hair from before I moved to Japan. Can't really do much about it now, I suppose.

There came a knock on the door and I quickly tore myself from my thoughts.

"Hey, Casey," I heard Haruhi call. "I have your clothes." I quickly walked over to the door and slightly opened it.

"Thanks, a lot," I said, reaching through the small opening for the clothes. I quickly took them and shut the door again, making my way to the mirror again. I slipped on my shirt and pulled up my jeans before pausing to look at the outfit Haruhi picked out. She ended up grabbing a simple form-fitting black t-shirt with a pair of straight jeans. I looked at the hoodie she grabbed, and noticed it was a green zip-up hoodie. I smiled.

"Your sense of fashion doesn't seem to falter since the Twins came into your life, Haruhi," I mused out loud. I chuckled a bit before slipping on the hoodie and zipping it up a bit. I checked myself over in the mirror a moment before walking to the door again. I opened it slowly before walking out into the hallway.

"Woah~!" I heard Hani-sempai exclaim. I froze for a moment.

"Wow. That certainly explains a lot," I heard the Twins say incredulously.

I went completely red. I had forgotten then only two who knew about my gender were Kyoya and Haruhi. I took a small step backwards before the Twins spoke back up.

"It's fine. We knew for a little while," they said in unison.

"It didn't take us long to notice some things," Hikaru finished.

"You were just too cute to be a boy!" Hani-sempai exclaimed.

"We promise not to say a thing, Casey," I heard Tamaki say. He must have noticed my uneasiness. I felt the tension in my body disappear as I made my way back out into the living room. I smiled happily at them for a moment before making my way back over to the couch and laying back down in exhaustion.

"Good grief…" I said quietly.

"Hey, Keii-chan! Do you have any movies?" Hani-sempai asked.

"Yeah, we should watch a movie!" the Twins said. I looked up at them.

"Yeah, sure," I said. I sat back up before Kyoya placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"It's alright. Just show them where the movies are and they'll pick," he said quietly. I smiled and pointed towards the tv cabinet.

"They're underneath there," I said. "Pick whatever you'd like."

Hani-sempai, the Twins, and Tamaki proceeded in raiding the cabinet and deciding on a movie. Though, easier said than done. Tamaki wanted to watch a dramatic romance movie, Hani-sempai found a movie oriented for little children, and the Twins wanted to watch a scary movie. So, it wasn't very easy to decide on a movie.

Eventually, they decided on an action/thriller movie with a bit of romance and a creepy twist. So, everyone was happy…except for Hani-sempai who hid in Mori-sempai's sleeve every few scenes.

The Twins helped themselves to making some popcorn in the kitchen, while the others took their seats around the living room, myself, Haruhi and Kyoya on the couch, the Twins sitting in a corresponding, yet smaller couch, and Mori-sempai on the floor with Hani-sempai in his lap. So, we were all pretty comfortable.

As the movie started, the Twins came back with the popcorn in a large bowel and passed it around to everyone. I got up briefly to shut off the lights and came back to take my place between Kyoya and Haruhi.

"I've heard of this movie before," I heard Haruhi say to my right. "But I haven't gotten a chance to actually see it."

"It's pretty good," I said. "I'm into the whole scary thriller scene, so I like it."

The movie went into the first scene, and I was already beginning to feel the exhaustion from the day. I felt myself drifting from consciousness again, but struggled to stay awake. I rubbed my eyes tiredly as I stared at the TV screen in the dark. It didn't help much, though.

I opted for resting my head on Kyoya's shoulder. I thought he would object, but for some reason he didn't seem to mind, so I stayed there. Eventually, I thought I felt an arm go around my shoulders, but I was too tired to tell, and eventually I fell sound asleep.

_"Casey! Casey, where are you?!"_

_"Mom?!" I called out to the voice. I knew I recognized it, but I couldn't find where it was coming from. It was just a dark void._

_I wandered for a while, calling out every so often. However, I only heard the voice one time. Then, I was suddenly thrown into another scene._

_It was night time and the streets were pretty busy, trying to escape the storm, I figured. The snow was falling pretty profusely and I knew that it wasn't about to let up any time soon. I started walking down the street, trying to make sense of why I was here in the first place._

_"Casey."_

_I whipped around to come face-to-face with my mother._

_"Mom!" I exclaimed as I ran straight into her embrace._

_"Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me? I could have handled the truth," she said. I simply looked up at her with wide eyes._

_"I…I didn't want…I didn't want to worry you!" I said._

_"Why did you lie to me?" Her voice was becoming distant, and I now realized that I wasn't hugging her anymore, but the air instead. I looked around but couldn't find her._

_"Mom?" I said, frantically trying to search for her._

_"Why did you lie to me? Why?" The words repeated over and over, and the air suddenly had an eerie feeling to it._

_Then, out of nowhere, a black car sped by. My eyes went wide as the car hit a patch of ice and flipped over multiple times before landing in a ditch nose-first. I stared at the scene hard before hearing the question one last time._

_"Why did you lie to me?" The voice was still my mother's, but had a slightly different tone. I whipped around to see the mangled corpse of my mother standing in front of me. I screamed._

"Casey! Wake up!"

I snapped awake as I felt the light shaking of my shoulders. I looked around a bit before my eyes focused in again.

"Wha-…What happened?" I managed to say.

"You were dreaming…" I looked over to see Kyoya still with his arm wrapped around me. I stared at him for a few moments before turning my head away from him.

"I…I guess I was…" I said shamefully.

"What was it about, if I might ask?" Kyoya said, concern filling his voice.

Trying to avoid the question, I turned my attention to the lack of other hosts in the room.

"Where is everybody else?" I asked. Kyoya hesitated for a moment before answering.

"You had fallen asleep again, and once the movie was over, I sent everybody else home," he explained. "You didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon…until you screamed, that is." His voice got a little darker at that last comment. I turned away again.

"I see…" was all I managed to say.

"I'll ask again," Kyoya said. "What was your dream about?"

I sat there for a moment, recollecting the previous scene, trying to make sense of it all. After a moment of thinking, I answered.

"It was…My mother's death…" I said quietly. Silence followed, and for a moment, you could probably have heard a pin drop had somebody dropped one. I could feel my face heating up from the tears forming. Finally, for the first time since the accident, I practically launched myself into his chest, and cried my heart out.

"I can't believe it! I can't believe she's actually gone, Kyoya! Why? Why did she have to leave!?" I cried hysterically, asking the questions over and over, as Kyoya held me close and stroked my hair.

"I don't know, Casey," he said. "But, I do believe all things happen for a reason…And, now, your mother is in a better place."

He comforted me the best he could, and slowly, I started calming down. I remained against his chest, still hiccupping a few sobs here and there, but overall, was close to calming down. We stayed like that all night, and eventually, both of us fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

_**Wow. Okay, so I know this was a little all over the place, but I just wanted to get a chapter up. So, I hope you enjoyed this! It's turning out okay, so I'll definitely keep going. But, as I've said before, reviews are more than welcome! So, on to my next chapter, and I'll see you guys soon!**_

_**Rate, Review, Comment, AND Criticize!**_

_**Ciao! ^-^**_


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